Gophers Might Want to Consider Multiple Firings

Kristopher Fiecke — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:01:01 -0500

If you were within earshot of the University of Minnesota on Saturday afternoon, that tapping sound you heard might have been Athletic Director Joel Maturi pounding a nail into the coffin of Tim Brewster's coaching career.

After another embarrassing display by his offense in Iowa City, the Tim Brewster experiment could likely to over.

The Gophers have looked lost and undisciplined on offense in the vast majority of their games. The first string offense failed to score a touchdown in four games this season. No matter what level of football you're at, that is unacceptable.

With a new offensive coordinator in Jedd Fisch, some struggles were to be expected. Fans can excuse the occasional fumble of interception, what they can't handle is the continuous parade of stupid penalties and the constant mismanagement of the clock, resulting in wasted timeouts and pointless delay of game penalties.

Someone has to be accountable for those errors, so the lion's share of the blame falls on Brewster's shoulders.

Don't get me wrong, Brewster has done some great things for this program. Team speed has drastically improved. The defense, which usually leaked like a sieve under Brewster's predecessor Glen Mason, might be the best defensive unit the Gophers have put on the field this decade.

Still, it hasn't been enough and the Gophers are once again stuck at .500 and headed to a lower-tier bowl game, a far cry from the Rose Bowls that Brewster talked about when he took over.

I realize that it takes time to build a program. You have to give Brewster time to develop the highly-touted recruits he brought in. The question you have to ask is: How much time is enough?

Next year will be Brewster's fourth season. I think it's more than fair to expect a coach to show some signs of improvement by the end of year four. To date, Brewster's yet to win a trophy game against a rival and is winless in the Big Ten during the month of November. That's not going to get it done.

I fully expect Brewster to be back next year, mainly because the University can't afford to buyout another contract. The AD went out on a limb to hire Brewster, next year is Brewster's last shot to make Joel Maturi look good.

If Brewster can't go 8-4 or better next season, I think he's gone and Maturi might have to be held accountable for his mistake. If I were Maturi, I'd be very nervous if University President Robert Bruininks came knocking on his office door asking to borrow that hammer.

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The 10 Greatest Gopher Football Players of All Time

Kristopher Fiecke — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:15:25 -0500

Though the University of Minnesota has suffered through some less than stellar seasons over the years, the program has still put some amazing players on the field. Despite a Rose Bowl drought that is nearing 50 years, the program has still managed to produce a fair amount of NFL-level talent. As the 2009 season winds down, it's a good time to take a look at the 10 greatest players to ever suit up for the Gophers football team. I tried to look at team success as a measure of deciding which players deserved to make the cut, but in some cases, the individual's performance couldn't be ignored, no matter how poor the Gophers' record was during that particular season. Nonetheless, my final list is still a little heavy on players from the earlier eras of college football. The stats aren't very impressive by today's standards, but college football was a different game back then. Due to the program's recent struggles, it's quite easy to forget what a national power the University of Minnesota once was. One needs to just look around TCF Bank Stadium to be reminded of the 6 national champion teams the Gophers have produced. Though I never saw several of the players on my list play, the University of Minnesota has excelled in making sure that the past isn't forgotten. The Gophers do a fantastic job of educating younger fans about Gopher players and coaches who gave so much to the University, both on and off the field. There is plenty of information available to anyone who wants to learn about the history of Gopher football. The most difficult part about creating the list for me was having to leave off some of the great Gophers that I have had the opportunity to watch while following the Gophers for the last 25 years or so. I hated to leave off Gopher greats Darrell Thompson, Rickey Foggie, Matt Spaeth, Willie Van De Steeg, Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney, but I simply ran out of room. You can easily make aruguements for all those players and more, but here are my 10 Greatest Gophers of all-time.

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Bleacher Report - Minnesota Golden Gophers Football

Gophers Might Want to Consider Multiple Firings

The 10 Greatest Gopher Football Players of All Time